Stewardship Reflections – December 2006

When I think about my relationship with God, I like to dwell on His promises to me. He promised to take away my sins and to allow me to live with him for eternity. And he does this even though there is no way that I can ever earn or merit such amazing gifts. I take on faith that He will fulfill these promises because He sent His Son, Jesus, and I know and believe that Jesus made the sacrifice on the cross to fulfill God’s promises. I take great joy in this knowledge and belief.

But I also have to think about my response to all this outpouring of love. I have to think about what my responsibilities are in this relationship. Because some of the stories of Jesus tell of an accounting to come and of consequences to my use of my gifts, I have to think about how to be a good steward of the time, talents and treasures that God has endowed me with.

One parable that Jesus tells is about three servants whose master gives them varying talents and then departs on a long journey. The servant who received five talents doubled his money, as did the one to whom the master gave two talents. But the servant who only received one talent feared the master and hid the money. He returned the money to the master, but without increase. The two former were well rewarded by the master, but the last was cast into the outer darkness. (Matt 25: 14-30). The master had clear expectations of what the servants would do with the talents that he entrusted to them. He brought the two who fulfilled his trust into his household and they were well taken care of. The third servant did nothing. He did not loose or squander the talent he received. He just did not use it to fulfill the master’s expectations. And he received severe punishment for his lack of effort. This is a hard story, but one with a couple of lessons for me.

First, I think the term talent is interesting. At the time of the story it was an increment of money. The story had an economic theme and I expect that the listeners of Jesus’ day understood it in that way. Today we do not think of talents in terms of money, but in terms of abilities. It seems to me that both aspects have relevance today. I have a set of talents and some treasure, and I think that both are equally important to my relationship with God and with His people. I also think that even though I cannot earn salvation, my actions do have meaning and that I will be held to account for them.

A second parable also seems to apply here. Jesus taught that when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison, we serve God. He states specifically that “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Matt 25: 40) The entire passage heaps blessings and inheritance in the kingdom to those who do the things mentioned above. It also commands those who do not to depart from the King. The passage speaks about our relationships with those we come in contact with on a daily basis. It is not about doing great works of faith or performing miracles. It is about dealing with people as we contact them. I think that makes it a very hard task. How many people do we contact on a daily basis? How many do we seek to know enough to understand and help with their daily needs? Is it enough to give money through the church for relief of the poor? Does it mean that I should seek out the needy described in the passage in order to help them, or am I only responsible for the ones I meet along my way? The list of questions is long and the answers are hard. But the questions are ones of relationship and response to God’s love and promises. And I believe that in the end the way I answer those questions by my actions will have consequences in eternity.